Portable lectern



A l 14 19 4 J. R. MEYER ETAL 3,129,032 v.

PORTABLE LECTERN Filed Aug. 13, 1962 United States Patent Oflfice 3,129,032 Patented Apr. 14, 1964 3,129,032 PORTABLE LECTERN Jack R. Meyer and Betsey A. Meyer, both of 4505 4th St. NE, Minneapolis, Minn. Filed Aug. 13, 1962, Ser. No. 216,623 6 Claims. (Cl. 297-163) This invention relates to lecterns and more specifically to a portable lectern device.

An object of this invention is to provide a novel portable lectern device, of simple and inexpensive construction, which is readily mountable upon the upper edge of the back rest of a seat so that the portable lectern has extensive applicability for use by lecturers and speakers at locations wherein the permanent type lecterns are not available.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved portable lectern which is readily mountable upon the upper edge of the back rest of a seat and which is collapsible to a structure of relatively small compass to thereby facilitate carrying and storage of the lectern.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a portable collapsible lectern of the class described including an article supporting member having front and rear flanges, and including a leg member having front and rear edge surfaces which cooperate with the flanges to permit the lectern to be mounted and supported in various positions from the upper edge of the back rest of a seat.

These and other objects and advantages of our invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like character references refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the portable lectern illustrated in supported relation upon the back rest of a seat, the latter being illustnated by dotted line configuration;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the portable lectern shown in mounted relation upon the back rest of a chair and;

' FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken approximately along line '3--3 of FIG. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawing it will be seen that one embodiment of our novel portable lectern, designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 10 is thereshown.

member 11 which is of rectangular configuration and which is preferably constructed of a suitable wood material suoh as oak or the like. The article supporting member 11 has a flat upper surface 12 and a flat lower surface 13 disposed in substantially parallel relation and it will be seen that a front flange element 14 is rigidly scoured to the lower surface 13 of the article supporting member in close proximity to the front edge thereof. This front flange element 14 is disposed normal to the general plane of the article supporting member 111 and traverses the width of the latter.

A rear flange element 15 is rigidly affixed to the rear edge of the article supporting member and also traverses the width thereof. It will be seen that this rear flange element 15 which is disposed in substantial parallel relation with respect to the front flange element 14 not only The portable lectern 10' includes an article supporting and this bracket 25 is rigidly collapsed position to lie depends downwardly below the lower surface of the article supporting member 11 but also projects upwardly beyond the upper surface thereof. It is pointed out that both the front and rear flange elements are preferably constructed of the same wood material as that of which the article supporting member 11 is constructed.

A leg member 16 is pivotally secured to the lower surface 13 of the article supporting member 11 by hinge connections 17 as best seen in FIG. 3. It will be seen that the leg member 16 is centrally located with respect to the side edges of the article supporting member -11 and is pivotal about an axis extending substantially normal to the front edge of the article supporting member between an erect operative position and a collapsed inoperative position. It will be noted as best seen in FIG. 3 that a leg member 16 is disposed substantially normal to the general plane of the article supporting member when in the operative erect position. This leg member 16 when in the collapsed position lies against the lower surface .13 of the article supporting member 11 and is disposed in substantially parallel relation relative thereto.

Means are provided for maintaining the leg member 16 in the erect operative position and this means includes a collapsible and extensible toggle brace mechanism 18 also clearly illustrated in FIG. 3. This toggle brace mechanism 18 includes a bracket 19 which is secured to the lower surface 13 of the article supporting member 11 by conventional securing means such as wood screws 20. An elongate substantially flat toggle brace link 21 has one end pivotally secured to the bracket 19 by a pivot pin 22 for pivotal movement relative thereto. The other end portion of the toggle brace link 21 is pivotally connected to a second toggle brace link 23 by means of a pivot pin 24-. The lower end of toggle brace link 23 is pivotally connected to a bracket 25 by a pivot pin 26 secured to one side of the leg member 16 by means of screws 27.

The toggle brace mechanism 13 is illustrated in the extended position in FIG. 3 and it will be seen that the toggle brace links 21 and 23 may be pivoted to the side by side when the leg member 16 is pivoted to the collapsed inoperative position. In order to prevent the toggle brace links 21 and 23 from pivoting beyond dead center, these toggle brace links are provided with cooperating stop lips 28 which cooperatively engage each other when the toggle brace links are in the extended position. The toggle brace links 21 and 23 are also releasably retained in the extended position by friction lock detent means 29. This detent means 29 is comprised of an arcuate bulge on one of said toggle link members and an arcuate recess on the other of said toggle brace links.

The side of the leg member 16 to which the toggle brace mechanism 18 is connected is provided with a vertically extending recess 3:41 therein. This recess is of a size shape to receive the toggle brace links 21 and 23 therein and also to permit bracket 19 to be accommodated therein when the leg member 16 is in the collapsed position. With this arrangement the leg member 16 may be disposed in substantially parallel relation with the lower surface 13 of the article supporting member 11.

Referring now to FIG. 2, it will be seen that the leg member 16 has a front edge surface 31 which is spaced rearwardly of the front flange element 14. It will be noted that this front edge surface 31 is disposed in an angulated relation with respect to the lower planar surface 13 of the article supporting member 11. It will also be seen that the leg member 16 is provided with a rear edge surface 32 which is substantially normal to the lower surface 13 of the article supporting member 11 and which is spaced forwardly of the rear flange element 15. The front flange element 14 cooperates with the front edge surface 31 of the leg member 16 and with the lower surface 13 of the article supporting member 11 to permit the lectern to be mounted on the upper edge of the back rest of a chair as best seen in FIG. 1. Because of the angulated relation of the front edge surface 31 of the leg member 16 with respect to the front flange element 14 the article supporting member 11 will be disposed in inclined relation as illustrated in FIG. 1, when the upper edge of a chair back rest is gripped between the front flange element 14 and the front edge surface 31. A book or other reading material article may be placed upon the upper surface 12 of the article supporting member 11 to permit the speaker standing in close proximity to the lectern to very nicely read from the supported reading material. It will be noted that the rear flange element 15 which projects above the upper surface 12 of the article supporting member 11 serves to retain the reading material on the article supporting member if the latter is disposed in inclined relation as illustrated in FIG. 2.

The upper edge of a seat back rest may also be gripped between the rear flange 15 and the rear edge surface 32 of the leg member 16 and since the rear edge surface 32 is disposed substantially parallel with respect to the rear flange element, the lectern may be supported upon variously constructed seat back rests.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that we have provided a novel portable collapsible lectern for use in supporting articles such as reading material and which may be readily mounted upon the upper edge of a seat back rest so that a speaker standing in close proximity to the chair may very nicely read or otherwise make reference to the supported reading material.

It will also be seen that our novel portable lectern may be readily collapsed to a structure of relatively small compass which not only facilitates carrying thereof but permits the lectern to be stored in a minimum of space.

Thus it will be seen that We have provided a novel portable lectern, which is not only of simple and inexpensive construction, but which functions in a more efficient manner than any heretofore known comparable device.

It will of course be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various parts without departing from the scope of our invention.

What is claimed is:

l. The collapsible portable lectern readily attachable to the back rest of a seat for use in supporting reading articles such as books, papers and the like, said lectern comprising an article supporting member having substantially flat parallel upper and lower surfaces and having straight front and rear edges,

a front flange element and rear flange element aflixed to and extending from said article supporting member in close proximity to the front and rear edges thereof respectively,

a leg member pivotally connected to the lower surface of said article supporting member for pivotal movement relative thereto about an axis extending substantially normal to the front edge of said article supporting member between a depending erect operative position and collapsed inoperative position against the lower surface of the said article supporting member,

releasable locking means interconnecting said leg member and article supporting member for releasably locking said leg member in the erect operative position,

said leg member having substantially straight front and rear edge surfaces spaced in opposed relation to said front and rear flange elements respectively, one of said edge surfaces being angulated and the other of said surfaces being disposed substantially normal with respect to general plane of said article supporting member,

said front flange element cooperating with the front edge surface of said leg member and the lower surface of said article supporting member to permit the upper edge of a chair back to be engaged and gripped thereby whereby said lectern is supported from the chair in one position,

and said rear flange cooperating with the rear edge surface of said leg member and the lower surface of said article supporting member to permit the upper edge of a chair back rest to be gripped thereby whereby said lectern may be selectively positioned and supported from the back rest of a chair in another position,

said article supporting member being substantially horizontally oriented when in one of said positions and being inclined with respect to the back rest in the other of said positions.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said leg member is centrally located with respect to the lower surface of said article supporting member.

3. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said releasable locking means comprises a toggle brace mechanism interconnected with said leg member and the lower surface of said article supporting member.

4. A collapsible portable lectern readily attachable to the back rest of a chair for use in supporting reading articles such as books, papers an the like, said lectern comprising a substantially rectangular article supporting member having substantially parallel upper and lower surfaces,

a front flange element and a rear flange element affixed to and depending from said article supporting member in close proximity to the front and rear edges thereof respectively,

a leg member pivotally connected adjacent its upper end to the under side of said article supporting member for pivotal movement relative thereto about an axis extending substantially normal to the front edge of said article supporting member between an erect operative position and a collapsed inoperative position against the lower surface of the article supporting member,

said leg member having front and rear edge surfaces spaced from said front and rear flange elements respectively, said front edge surface being angulated with respect to the front flange element and said rear edge surface being disposed in substantial parallel relation with the rear flange element,

a toggle brace mechanism extending between and being interconnected with one side of said leg member and the lower surface of said article supporting member for releasably retaining said leg member in the erect operative position,

said front flange element cooperating with the angulated front edge surface of said leg member and the lower surface of the article supporting member to permit the upper edge of a chair back to be engaged and gripped thereby to support the lectern in inclined relation from a chair back rest, and said rear flange element cooperating with the rear edge surface of said leg member and the lower surface of said article supporting member to permit the upper edge of the chair back rest to be gripped thereby whereby said lectern may be supported from the chair back rest in a substantially horizontal position.

5. The structure as defined in claim 4 wherein said rear flange element projects upwardly beyond the uppeer 5 surface of said article supporting member to thereby define a retaining surface for retaining an article of reading material upon said article supporting member.

6. The structure as defined in claim 4 wherein said one side of the leg member is provided with a recess 10 for receiving said toggle mechanism when said leg member is in the collapsed position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Barrie May 29, 1928 Wittlinger Dec. 3, 1929 Olivant Mar. 31, 1942 Ventrice Aug. 17, 1954 Math Apr. 2, 1957 

1. THE COLLAPSIBLE PORTABLE LECETERN READILY ATTACHABLE TO THE BACK REST OF A SEAT FOR USE IN SUPPORTING READING ARTICLES SUCH AS BOOKS, PAPERS AND THE LIKE, SAID LECTERN COMPRISING AN ARTICLE SUPPORTING MEMBER HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT PARALLEL UPPER AND LOWER SURFACES AND HAVING STRAIGHT FRONT AND REAR EDGES, A FRONT FLANGE ELEMENT AND REAR FLANGE ELEMENT AFFIXED TO AND EXTENDING FROM SAID ARTICLE SUPPORTING MEMBER IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE FRONT AND REAR EDGES THEREOF RESPECTIVELY, A LEG MEMBER PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO THE LOWER SURFACE OF SAID ARTICLE SUPPORTING MEMBER FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT RELATIVE THERETO ABOUT AN AXIS EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL TO THE FRONT EDGE OF SAID ARTICLE SUPPORTING MEMBER BETWEEN A DEPENDING ERECT OPERATIVE POSITION AND COLLAPSED INOPERATIVE POSITION AGAINST THE LOWER SURFACE OF THE SAID ARTICLE SUPPORTING MEMBER, RELEASABLE LOCKING MEANS INTERCONNECTING SAID LEG MEMBER AND ARTICLE SUPPORTING MEMBER FOR RELEASABLY LOCKING SAID LEG MEMBER IN THE ERECT OPERATIVE POSITION, SAID LEG MEMBER HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY STRAIGHT FRONT EDGE SURFACE OF SAID LEG MEMBER AND THE LOWER SURFACE OF SAID ARTICLE SUPPORTING MEMBER TO PERMIT THE UPPER EDGE OF A CHAIR BACK TO BE ENGAGED AND GRIPPED THEREBY WHEREBY SAID LECTERN IS SUPPORTED FROM THE CHAIR IN ONE POSITION, AND SAID REAR FLANGE COOPERATING WITH THE REAR EDGE SURFACE OF SAID LEG MEMBER AND THE LOWER SURFACE OF SAID ARTICLE SUPPORTING MEMBER TO PERMIT THE UPPER EDGE OF A CHAIR BACK REST TO BE GRIPPED THEREBY WHEREBY SAID LECTERN MAY BE SELECTIVELY POSITIONED AND SUPPORTED FROM THE BACK REST OF A CHAIR IN ANOTHER POSITION, SAID ARTICLE SUPPORTING MEMBER BEING SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY ORIENTED WHEN IN ONE OF SAID POSITIONS AND BEING INCLINED WITH RESPECT TO THE BACK REST IN THE OTHER OF SAID POSITIONS. 